Neo-Nazi group flyers left in Naples Park didn't target specific people, CCSO says

A Texas-based neo-Nazi group that recently distributed flyers in a North Naples neighborhood tried to intimidate minorities especially, says a civil rights group.

Seventy Ziploc bags containing flyers that stated “IT’S OK TO BE WHITE” were distributed on Naples Park driveways the morning of May 14 ― Mother’s Day ― by the Aryan Freedom Network. Collier County sheriff’s deputies said they collected the bags, which also contained rice to act as a weight. They also said the “suspicious incident,” as they termed it, did not appear to target “specific people.”

The flyers also included the wording “WHITE-POWER.ORG; DISTRIBUTED RANDOMLY WITHOUT MALICIOUS INTENT,” with the Aryan Freedom Network logo (a Totenkopf, German for skull and crossbones, surrounded by acorns and oak leaves) and an image of a white couple with a baby, deputies reported.

'Low-cost' way to disseminate hate

The Aryan Freedom Network has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a "loose network of neo-Nazi activists," said Hannah Gais, senior research analyst Hannah Gais with the Montgomery, Alabama-based center especially known for monitoring hate groups across the U.S.

The Aryan Freedom Network typically works in cooperation with other extremist groups like the National Socialist Movement and the Atomwaffen Division, making AFN what Gais refers to as an "umbrella group,” she said.

"Particularly last year, they have tried to do much more of a push to make themselves seem like they're much more of a national organization," Gais said.

Flyers are a low-cost and low-effort means of establishing and disseminating evidence of activity, she said.

"One or two people can distribute hundreds of flyers over the course of just a couple of hours, just by driving around and just tossing them into driveways, which is what's happened here," Gais said.

'Intimidation toward minorities'

Because the Aryan Freedom Network is based in De Kalb, Texas, it is likely that the effort in Naples was done in collaboration with another extremist group, she said.

The Florida chapter of the Council American-Islamic Relations issued a news release immediately after the Aryan Freedom Network's distribution of flyers in Naples, hoping to bring the matter to the attention of federal law enforcement.

"A very well-known and documented hate group that we know is now operating in Florida. This is the first step they take as to representing themselves as 'we are present in this state' and that itself sends a very strong message," said Wilfredo Ruiz, the media and outreach director of CAIR-Florida.

CAIR-Florida has called on the FBI to dig deeper into this incident because the flyers are not only an announcement of the AFN's newfound presence in Florida, but also an act of intimidation toward minorities living in the area.

"This hate group that, today is sending anti-Semitic messages, tomorrow will be targeting a mosque because for them, there's no difference," Ruiz said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a civil advocacy group that aims to address the victimization made by hate groups like the Aryan Freedom Network and to "to promote a more just and equitable society."

"With these groups, what we do is help in identifying the activity, making their activity public, making the law enforcement aware of their activities and perhaps collaborating with other organizations that help identify and keep track of those hate groups operating nationwide, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center," Ruiz said.

Hate propaganda increasing, report says

The Anti-Defamation League, a New York City-based Jewish international group specializing in civil rights law and known for tracking hate speech, in March released a report that revealed an increase in white supremacist propaganda.

The report showed that, in 2022, the number of hate incidents increased by 38 percent in the U.S. from 2021 ― 6,751 cases reported in 2022 compared to 4,876 the previous year.

And the report said the Aryan Freedom Network was among several antisemitic white supremacist groups that formed in 2022 as membership organizations. AFN claims to have chapters in 25 states, the ADL said on its website.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: CCSO: Racist flyers left in Naples Park not aimed at 'specific people'